This invention relates to multiple bottle liquid filling devices, and in particular to devices for liquid filling bottles employed for animal feeding.
Over time a wide variety of bottles have been used for animal feeding. Originating with dairy bottles, today multiple glass configurations and polycarbonate and other plastics are routinely employed. Liquids for animal feeding comprise primarily water, with options of course, for adding nutrients, drugs, and various sterilizing agents. Filling these differently shaped bottles for use in various animal cage structures can vary from hand filling operations to fully automated procedures depending on requirements. Although the bottles can be filled one at a time using a hose or spigot, usually some kind of manifold arrangement is utilized to fill the bottles.
While manifold bottle filling devices provide operators with convenience and speed, by their nature they are a xe2x80x9clocked-inxe2x80x9d design, generally accommodating only one particular bottle size and basket configuration. The present invention addresses this problem by providing for the use of a combined, multiple manifold assembly arrangements in order to rapidly and efficiently accommodate frequently occurring multiple sized bottle filling operations.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a convenient and economical system and method for liquid filling at least two differently sized bottle arrangements in rapid succession.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a flexible manifold system and method for liquid filling of bottles.
Still another object of the invention is to provide for the quick connection and disconnection of at least a two manifold arrangement for the liquid filling of differently sized bottles.
A further object of the invention is to provide a system and method for filling a quantity of at least two differently sized bottles contained in first and second bottle baskets without the normal necessity for manifold replacement.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for manual liquid filling of at least two different sized bottles contained in at least a first and second bottle basket in immediately following consecutive order.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a system for automatic liquid filling of at least two different sized bottles contained in at least a first and second tray in immediately following consecutive order.
These and other objects are obtained with the multiple head, bottle filling apparatus and method of the present invention.
As mentioned above routine liquid filling a quantity of bottles for animal feeding generally makes use of a manifold for delivering a pre-determined quantity of liquid into a number of same sized bottles arranged in a basket or tray. Bottles may be filled with ordinary tap water, purified water, or water having added nutrients or pharmaceuticals. For a variety of reasons differently sized bottles are often introduced into animal feeding. With prior art filling arrangement this may necessitate buying additional bottle filling stations with obvious negative cost and space disadvantages; or more commonly, substituting a second manifold to alternate with an existing manifold. This later option is the one most often resorted to. It requires the operator, however, to organize the bottle baskets so that a succession of baskets of the same size and bottle arrangement are collected together. These are all filled before the manifold is replaced to accommodate a second grouping of differently sized baskets.
Attempts have been made to simplify alternate manifold attachments, such as, for example, a quick-release manifold holder attached to the control cabinet of a bottle filling station. While this holder provides added convenience, it occurred that substantial time savings would result if an alternate filling means could be simultaneously available so as to immediately fill bottles irrespective of their arrangement or order in a bottle-filling line.
To this end a bottle filling apparatus is constructed, including a multiple head, manifold assembly which is supported in a suitable manner in order to fill a horizontally disposed, basket of bottles. These may be arranged in a variety of configured baskets. However for purposes of illustration and not by way of limitation, the principles of the invention will be discussed as they are implemented for two such basket configurations.
A typical embodiment includes the securing of the manifold assembly to a back plash which is vertically positioned above the water filling station. A quick-release manifold holder is secured to this back splash. In the particular example to be described, in which the first manifold assembly is designed to fill 24 bottles at one time, a first bottle filling grid system is employed. It utilizes six, first manifold tubes, capped at one end, and attached to the manifold base. These tubes extend outward from and typically perpendicular to the manifold base. A set of four nipples extend downward from each tube. The manifold base, manifold tubes, and nipples are hollow and confluent with each other. A liquid feed line is attached at the center of the manifold base, generally extending upward and parallel to the back splash. Each of the 24 nipples is disposed at a respective intersection in a first grid system where a particular bottle opening will be positioned.
To efficiently accommodate a second bottle basket configuration, as, for example, 20 bottles, typically different in size from the 24 bottle arrangement, and disposed in a differently sized basket, a second bottle filling grid system is employed. It utilizes a second manifold assembly set in place in fixed relationship to the first manifold. The second manifold base may be secured to the first manifold base, such as by welding the two together. This second manifold assembly, in turn, has a second liquid feed line with an in-line valve attached. For this specific bottle basket configuration, five, second manifold tubes, are capped on one end, and attached to the second manifold base. These tubes extend outward from and typically are perpendicular to the second manifold base. A set of four, second nipples extend downward from each second manifold tube, for a total of twenty. The nipples, second manifold tubes, and second manifold base are hollow and confluent with each other. These second set of tubes with their respective set of nipples are positioned immediately adjacent and between the first set of tubes and their respective set of first nipples. Each of the twenty nipples is disposed at a respective intersection in the second grid system where a particular bottle opening, for the 20 bottle configuration, will be positioned. Although not necessary and not always the case, the second set of nipples can have sufficient length so as to have their openings at the same height above the fill table as the openings in the first set of nipples.
In operation, a tray, in this example containing 20 or 24 bottles, would be placed on suitable support rods within the fill table. This placement would be registered to the respective nipple opening grid system so that each bottle opening is positioned beneath one of the downwardly extending nipples for that respective grid system. The liquid feed line (which is connected to a source of liquid, for example, purified water) of the respective manifold assembly is then activated either by manually turning an in-line valve on and visually monitoring the fill process, or automatically by means of a solenoid-activated, in-line valve, controlled by a timer.
With the above arrangement it becomes possible to conveniently process bottle baskets of different bottle size and/or configuration as they become available instead of the prior practice of accumulating a number of trays, changing a manifold, and then processing the subsequent tray configuration. In addition, the present invention also provides a method and apparatus for rapid replacement of the manifolds with another set, to handle still further tray configurations, if that becomes necessary.
It is anticipated that with suitable positioning of associated hardware in relation to the first and second grid systems, additional grid systems can be configured so as to properly position the respective sets of nipples in their own unique grid patterns to fill bottles arranged in still other basket configurations, without changing the manifold assembly.
Alternatively, with the quick release feature different manifold assembly configurations designed to fill still other bottle basket arrangements can be utilized.
The fill table, back splash, manifold assemblies, and liquid feed lines implementing the invention can, of course, be fabricated in a variety of materials, including metals such as aluminum and stainless steel, plastics, or glass, depending on requirements. Since sterilizing agents, such as dilute acids, and/or chlorine may be introduced into the liquid feed, type 316 stainless steel is often the preferred material of construction, at least for some of the above components, to minimize possible corrosion.